Matthew Flugence, the Marrero man accused of killing Ahlittia North, 6, before throwing her body in a trash can and rolling it to a Harvey curb in 2013, pleaded guilty as charged to first-degree murder on Thursday, thus accepting a life sentence in prison in a plea deal that removed the possibility he one day could die by lethal injection, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney announced.

Flugence, 22, had been charged with first-degree murder, and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office planned to seek the death penalty. His guilty plea was negotiated with his public defenders, leading to Thursday’s unscheduled hearing before 24th Judicial District Court Judge Adrian Adams.

Ahlittia North, who would have turned 8 on March 3, was stabbed twice in the neck and twice in the abdomen.

Flugence, whose uncle was Ahlittia North’s stepfather, emerged as the suspect and was arrested three days after she disappeared. Police found him walking alone on Victory Drive in Westwego. He was carrying a knife, police said at the time.

He confessed, asserting that the child initiated sexual contact behind an apartment building on Destrehan Avenue, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. He told authorities that after the encounter happened, he snapped, stabbed her and watched her die, according to a news release from the District Attorney's Office.

Lisa North said Flugence “showed no grace or mercy” throughout the ordeal, including his baseless accusations of what he alleged her daughter did. “But far worse than that, he shows no remorse,” she testified.

In connection with the plea arrangement, the District Attorney’s Office said it also dismissed charges of aggravated rape, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, two counts of battery on a corrections officer and resisting arrest by force or violence. The rape charge did not involve Ahlittia, officials said.

Flugence’s brother, Russell Flugence, 24, of Marrero, pleaded guilty to a charge of failure to report a certain felony in 2014 and was sentenced to one year in prison. He admitted his brother told him he killed Ahlittia North, but he didn’t report it to police.

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